1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to accessories for a photograph album. More particularly, this invention relates to an accessory which permits sound recordings to be associated with photographs in an album.
2. State of the Art
Wallet accessories for use with pre-existing wallets are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,057 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,913. These devices are typically destined for “after market” applications where a retailer who sells conventional wallets also offers special inserts for the wallets. The wallet accessory shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,057 is designed to provide extra storage space for carrying additional credit cards. The accessory may also be used to provide a credit card holder for wallets which are not so equipped. Although it would be possible to place photographs within these accessories, in order to view the photograph, the photographs would have to be removed from the receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,942,913 shows a “sub-wallet” for use with a main wallet. The sub-wallet carries important items which the wallet owner always needs, while the remainder of the wallet carries items that are,not absolutely necessary. If necessary, the owner can subsist on the sub-wallet alone, and does not require the contents of the main wallet. Although photographs could be placed in the wallet or the sub-wallet, it would not be possible to view more than one of these photos unless one were to remove them from the wallet or sub-wallet, thereby causing the photographs to become worn and mutilated over time.
Other types of wallets are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,431,207 and 5,775,398. These patents disclose wallet accessories having compartmental arrangements for accommodating devices such as calculators, along with holders for accommodating sundries. None of the wallets or known accessories therefor are specifically adapted for use with audio devices in conjunction with photographs.
However, it is known to associate audio messages with photographs in an album. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,519 to Manico et al. teaches a system of a photograph album and an audio storage device attached thereto. Bar coded labels are associated with individual photographs in the album. Scanning a bar coded label with a scanning wand sends an infrared signal to the storage device to control playback of an audio file in the storage device associated with the label. In order to record an audio message for association with a photograph, the storage device must be put into a ‘record’ mode and the label associated with the photograph is scanned to access a designated message address in the storage device and the message is then input into the storage device via a microphone. As a result, the bar coded labels, scanning wand and playback device must be present to record a message. Thus, such a system is not highly portable, not well-adapted for intimate recordings, such as the spontaneous and cherished verbal interactions between a grandparent and a grandchild, and in practice essentially requires that the photograph album (with bar coded labels applied) be assembled with photographs before recordings associated with the photographs can be recorded.